


By the Old Oak Tree

by LittleLadyBigDreamer



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Baby Evlynn, F/M, Friendship, Kids AU, Meet-Cute, slight angst, tw: bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 10:38:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11667423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLadyBigDreamer/pseuds/LittleLadyBigDreamer
Summary: Eve Baird thinks her first day at Wilson Elementary will be like any other; awful. But when she makes an unexpected friend things start to look up.





	By the Old Oak Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I screamed this out on Whatsapp to Sanzochan months ago and never posted it and the shipathon (bless it) has forced me to do just that. I hope you like it, there are a few things that I wanted to add but I didn't want to make it too long and also I knew I'd get carried away. Some parts of this were really heart breaking to write because Flynn is a teeny bunny that needs protecting and I always want to hold him.
> 
> Ps. I will eventually upload everything and actually contribute to the shipathon.

Pushing open the solid steel doors, Eve Baird stepped out onto the playground of Wilson Elementary, the shrill of the recess bell still ringing in her ears, She took a deep breath as she began to peruse the area, trying to find either at least one who had said hi to her or a small corner in which she could hide until the period was over. 

She groaned internally as she scanned over the children littering the largely tarmacked grounds. She hated the first week of a new school, her dad always told her to put on her battle face and be his little soldier while her mom assured her that this time it would be easier. But no matter how brave her face or how much experience she'd had starting at a new school, Eve still got that knotting feeling in her gut when the day arrived. Once again she'd be the new girl who'd already been to schools in four different states, and would spend recesses and lunchtimes alone for days on end until one person realised she wasn't a total freak. It wasn't that she disliked being by herself, she quite enjoyed her own company and it gave her routine, allowed her to know exactly how her day would go, but sometimes it was nice to have someone to talk to someone that made her feel like she fit in somewhere even if she'd only get to spend a few weeks with them before she was carted off to the next city.

As her gaze flitted over girls playing jump rope, and games of four square her attention was drawn to a gangly, messy-haired boy over by a large oak tree across the grounds. He was stumbling backwards as two other boys seemingly jeered at him, knocking the stack of books he was carrying to the ground before giving them a few kicks. The shorter, more stockier of the two boys seemed to be the alpha of the duo and repeatedly pushed his innocent classmate who couldn't help but flinch and take each hit as he tried to splutter a desperate defence. The skinny, long haired bully soon joined his friend in pushing at the poor boy who continued to stumble away from them. They knocked him harder and harder until he backed into a tree root that was poking out of the ground and was sent flying. He seemed to bite his cheeks to keep from wincing since the bullies were now in full fits of laughter, one picking up his little brown satchel and throwing out the books it held before emptying its contents over the poor boy.

If fumes could've blasted out from Eve's ears they probably would have at that moment. If there was one thing she absolutely hated it was a bully, they were in every school and she was sick of it; preying on innocent victims was never okay. With her eyes narrowed and fists clenched so tight her nails almost dug into her palms, she marched across the playground heading straight for the two boys who didn't realise they were about to face her wrath.

"Hey!" she yelled once she was close enough. Both boys immediately looked her way, one scowling, the other simply looking confused while the third froze, wondering who at the school had finally noticed he was being harassed and hoping to every God he knew that they weren't there to join in. "Yeah you, knuckle heads," she called out to the former two. "Leave him alone!"

"Oh yeah?" jeered the larger, dark-haired leader. "And what are you gonna do if I don't, blondie?" As he spat the final word he sent a hard shove Eve's way. 

The flush in cheeks of the blonde eight year-old darkened and her heart pumped harder against her chest; no one called her blondie and got away with it. Within seconds she'd stomped on his foot and punched him in the stomach, yanking him by his arm before flipping him over onto his back, feeling grateful of what she'd learnt in karate and from her dad's collection of action movies. 

The boy let out a shriek as he hit the grassy knoll below him, before scrambling onto his feet and fleeing, his friend following behind dumbfounded. 

"Who is that?!" the floppy haired sidekick wailed. 

"We're not done with you Carsen," the still-startled larger boy threatened over his shoulder, trying to muster some courage. "Or you blondie!"

"I'll be waiting!" Eve called out after them, a victorious grin on her face.

 

Spinning on her heels she looked back at the remaining boy, still kneeling on the ground collecting his belongings, brushing off dirt from his books. The knees of his pale denim jeans were marred with grass stains, and his shirt bearing the phrase _‘I ♥ π_ ’ was dotted with specks of dirt. He looked so tired and sullen as he muttered to himself, and Eve's smile faded as she watched him with pity, a sorrowful frown creasing her brows.  

Settling down beside him on her knees, she picked up one of the books and held it out to him as she said, "You don't have to put up with that you know."

Slowly he looked up at her, immediately squinting as the sun shone in his eyes. Standing once more, Eve stepped into the light and the boy was finally able to see his unexpected saviour. "It's okay," he mumbled, brushing himself off before rising to meet her and taking the book she was still holding out to him. "They have to do it to someone.

"That doesn't mean you should let it be you," she replied softly.

His brows furrowed then and he argued, "I'm not _letting_ it be me!"

"Well you didn't look like you were doing much to stop them," she pointed out, suddenly feeling him getting under her skin.

"What do you want anyway?" he spluttered.

"Nothing. I just saw those stupid kids harassing you so I came over," she explained before hesitantly adding, "Also I don't actually know anyone here yet."

"Oh yeah," he suddenly nodded with understanding as though she'd given him the answer to the secret that was her. "You're Eve Baird. Daughter of a Colonel, been to six schools in the last 2 years."

"How did yo-" Eve began, scrunching up her face with confusion before the seemingly obvious dawned on her. "Oh god you hang out with the Librarian a lot don’t you?"

"Noo!" he cried in defence, shaking his head though his answer was clearly a lie. "But Judson and I are friends and he said I’m basically his second in command. I could be the librarian if I wanted to," he boasted as he rambled. "And anyway I might have heard him talking to the lady in the finance office about you. They feel sorry for you by the way."

Eve crossed her arms as she huffed sulkily. "Well tell them they needn't," she retorted. "I don't need anyone's pity." 

"Neither do I," cried her new acquaintance.

"Fine."

"Fine."

 

A brief moment of tense silence passed between the pair before the boy, scuffing his barely laced sneakers against the ground muttered, "Thank you by the way, for what you did before with Spike and his dopey sidekick.” 

"No problem," Eve couldn't help but return the kind smile he was giving her. "They're doofuses anyway."

"Yeah," he chuckled lightly. "So where'd you learn a move like that?"

"I've been taking karate for ever and well dad's in the military and we like fight movies..." she half explained. 

"Right," he nodded in understanding. 

"So...what is there to do at this place during recess?" she asked as she watched him take a seat against the tree.

"Not a lot. I just come and sit here and read. You can lean against the tree and it shades you too." He gave a little shrug of dismay as he added, "I get burnt easily."

"Oh," she acknowledged. "What are you reading right now?"

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out and held up the dusty cover of a threaded crimson book. " _Timaeus Et Critias,_ by Plato," he announced proudly. "Contains his earliest references to Atlantis. It's the translated version, I haven't quite got the hang of Latin to read a whole book but my mom got me this for my birthday and it is riveting."

"You believe in all that?" Eve asked, sliding down against the bark of the tree and seating herself next to him.

"Of course. Don't you?" he asked before spinning his head round at her, practically astounded and asking, "Wait you _know_  what Atlantis is?"

"Of course I know. Doesn't everybody?" she queried, frowning a little at his apparent surprise. 

"Not at this school," he muttered bitterly.

"So you actually believe Atlantis is real?" Eve questioned, bringing him back on track. 

"Yeah!" he cried, and Eve was sure that if he was in an actual seat he'd have jumped out of it. 

"But it's just a myth isn't it?” she continued to query. "A story that's been told again and again throughout history that people get excited over but in the end it's just a bedtime story."

His eyes widened and his brows rose high as he asked, "Is it Eve? _Is it_?"

"Well yeah...just like Aladdin and the lamp."

"You don't believe in that either?"

"Well it's...magic," she said, hesitating briefly as though her very use of the word was as absurd as the notion of it. 

"Exactly," he said, big brown eyes round and sparkling.

She took a moment, blinking hard before inquiring, "You believe in magic? Real magic?"

"Don't you?"

"Well there's...there's no such thing as magic."

"Shh!" he cried almost as soon as the words left her lips, hands outstretched in a hushing motion. "Don't let Judson hear you say that or you'll never be allowed in the Library! Of course magic exists. Where do you think the stories come from?"

Eve stared at him, unsure as to whether he'd opened her mind or not. He was kind of weird, but she found him interesting.

He could see that her mind was caught in a battle between his words and her own logic which seemed to be faltering. "You can read with me if you want," he offered, shuffling his book a little closer to her and deciding to give her time to make up her own mind about magic, although it really was real.

"Thanks," she smiled. "You don't mind? I'm stealing your quiet spot."

"I don't mind. You can hang out here." His face fell a little as he hurriedly added, "Until you find someone cool to be friends with."

"I think I already have," she said in earnest. Though he looked astounded he returned her smile. A moment later he stuck his head into his satchel and pulled out a small plastic tub, its contents a neon green. "Jello?" he offered. 

Eve shook her head with a small smile. "No thanks, I'm good. I have chocolate covered pretzels. Want some?"

He thought for a moment then shook his head. "Chocolate always melts super fast in my hands," he said wriggling his fingers. "Don't wanna get it on the book."

"Fair enough," Eve supposed. "Maybe you should turn the pages then."

"I can do that," he agreed. Eve watched as he wrestled with the lid of the Jello, finally finding success but at the price of a piece of it flying over and landing on Eve's knee. His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed as he stared in horror at the gelatinous lump on his new friend's jeans. "Sorry," he winced though Eve simply chuckled.

"No problem," she laughed, flicking the wobbly snack off her and watching as it landed near a small bunch of daisies poking out between the blades of grass.

 

Feeling guilty for practically throwing his snack over possibly the one student in the school who liked him, he hurriedly looked around the area they were sat to see if there was anything he could offer as a way of apology. A few yards behind them he spotted it. 

"Hold on a second!" he suddenly cried, balancing his Jello against the tree and dashing off to the outskirts of the playground. Eve frowned with perplexity and peered round the trunk of the tree as far as she could without dropping the book that was left resting on her legs. _He's always moving_ , she noted.

Moments later he returned, puffing slightly, his cheeks a tad pink. As he plonked himself back into his spot he shoved his hand into her face. "Here," he panted. As she drew back a little from the object right in her face, she was able to see that it was a stunning red carnation, its ruffled petals blooming brightly, the remains of its stem a vibrant green and slightly glossy. "Mom says not everything can be fixed with words," he explained. "I mean obviously a lot of things can, words are one of the best tools we have-"

"Thank you," Eve said softly, cutting short his rambling as she took the item from his hand.

"You're welcome."

His wide grin giving way to his dimples, and kind eyes suddenly made Eve feel more comfortable than she had all day, and she finally didn't feel like so much of a stranger. Dipping her head forward, she sniffed at the flower in her hand and took in its sweet scent before placing it into the pocket of her blue plaid shirt. From the corner of her eye she saw Flynn digging back into his Jello. 

"Hey," she said, stealing his attention. "Since you're letting me read your books why don't I teach you how to fight? Or defend yourself at least."

"Um...," he bit down on the little plastic spoon in his mouth as he pondered a reply, "I dunno I'm not so good with the punching stuff."

"I am," the feisty blonde declared proudly. "How about I do it for you whilst I'm around? A guardian of sorts."

He considered for a moment then nodded firmly, apparently with too much momentum as he knocked his head against the tree. Eve couldn't help but giggle. He was such a dork.

He turned and frowned at the offending plant. "Now I know why they turn you into books," he muttered.

"So do we have a deal?" she asked.

"Yes!" he beamed, nodding once more though minding the bark of the tree this time. He stuck his free hand out towards her. "I'm Flynn by the way. Flynn Carsen."

Eve took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you... _Librarian_."

"I'm glad you moved here. I hope you get to stick around... _Guardian_ ," he flashed her another smile.

"Me too," she grinned back. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Anything and everything is appreciated :) x


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